My current make-up routine

I'm one of those people who isn't blessed enough to be able to roll out of bed and just head out the door without a speck of make up on. Oh no - I need some help! And not just a slick of mascara kind of help.

At the moment, I've got quite a good routine going and know how to get my 'look' done in around 15 minutes.

It consists of the following products, in the following order:


1. Cleanse, eye cream, facial oil, moisturiser, primer - the Oils of Life range at The Body Shop is fantastic (trust me, you need the oil in your life!) and then Stila One Step Correct as a base for my make up (see my review from a few months ago here).

2. Foundation, under-eye concealer and stick concealer - I keep changing my mind over my favourite foundation at the moment. I either opt for No 7 Lift and Luminate in Calico or The Body Shop Fresh Nude in Bora Bora. Under my eyes, I'm loving Soap and Glory's Just Bright Tired Skin Concealer - it's lilac but trust me, it does really brighten your eyes up. L'Oreal's Lumi Magique is great too (like a cheaper Touche Eclat) and Benefit's Fake Up are also faves of mine.

3. Powder, bronzer, two tone blusher and highlighter - this is part of my routine that I have spent more time on of late. Being pale as pale can be, the contour trend is something I can try but have to be subtle about. I use The Body Shop's honey bronzer under my cheekbones, on my temples and along my jaw then I have a Barry M, of all brands, Get Up and Glow blusher kit that has a fab peachy toned blush that I use to define under my cheeks and outwards, before using a pop of pink on the apples of my cheeks. I then use Soap and Glory's highlighter powder on the tops of my cheeks, under my eyes.

I find this all gives me some colour and depth and the layering helps my make up last most of the day.

Picking the right products to suit your skin, desired look and shade is one thing but you need to have the right tools too. L.A.B.2 got in touch with me a few weeks ago, having seen my love of make up, and sent me a foundation brush and a blusher brush too to try out. And they're now a staple of my morning make up routine.

The foundation brush is really soft and the fine hairs work wonders when blending in my foundation, and making sure that it sinks into my skin without leaving any streaks.

The blusher brush has a brilliant shape and I find that this is really useful to sculpt around my cheeks. I can angle it when using my bronzer and the edge curves nicely around the apples of my cheeks when I try and get a defined shade of colour with my blusher.

You can buy them from Superdrug and Amazon, and they're great value and excellent quality (plus cruelty free too - yay!).

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4. Eye time! I use Benefit's Lemon Aid on my lids as a primer, as they're quite red naturally, then I use an eyeshadow kit, even if it's just to create a nude base. I love Soap and Glory's felt eyeliners and have recently discovered No 7's powder eyeliners, which are brilliant for a smokey eye look (the mink/brown shade makes a welcome change from black, as long as you've used a good primer) and they're Stay Perfect Shade and Define sticks are great too,particularly for adding colour to your lower lash line (Gunmetal is my favourite).

My mascara picks at the moment are still Benefit's Roller Lash or Maybelline's Rocket Volume (which I happened to wear when in labour and it didn't budge!). I've also been trying Rimmel's Volume Colourist mascara that's meant to tint your lashes over time, although I haven't really seen any noticeable results myself, but have found it to be a pretty decent mascara.

5. Lips then I'm done - Espa has two beautiful lip treats - Mandarin Lip Balm and the new Nourishing Lip Treatment, which I swear makes your pout look plumped up - so as the weather gets cooler, I'll be using these a lot more so that my favourite matte lipsticks don't dry my lips too much. My go-to lipstick of the moment, that goes with everything, is from Soap and Glory's new lipstick collection. The nudes are fantastic and so creamy to wear - Cinnamon Beige is my ultimate shade.

Trust me, it only takes me 15 minutes, sometimes less, despite the long list featured here! What can I say, I love make up?!

* Thank you to L.A.B.2 for sending me the brushes to review, all other products were bought by myself and opinions remain my own.